61 



inches apart. The larvae become mature in the autmnn (mid-April 

 onwards) and remain in their cocoons throughout the winter, passing 

 only a comparatively short time in the pupal stage. Evidence of 

 attack by this borer is very pronounced, the stem appearing severely 

 bruised and torn, and becoming straw-coloured ; it is often split and 

 swollen, and pale gall-like excrescences, formed of ejected pellets in 

 a glutinous mass, are present. 



Fuller (C.)- The bindweed gall-maker {Nupserha apicalis, P.). — 

 Agric. Jl. Union S. Africa, Pretoria, viii, no. 2, August 1914, 

 pp. 242-244, 5 figs. 



The bindweed is an introduced plant, which in Pietermaritzburg and 

 its environs has been adopted by the Longicorn, Nupserha apicalis, as 

 a host. The native plant on which this beetle lives has not been 

 determined, but it is probably an indigenous Convolvulus or Ipomoea. 

 The galls, which are always concolorous with the stem and become 

 hard and woody in the winter, are elongate, hollow swellings 

 tapering at either end into the stem ; they are two or three inches 

 long and may bo either straight or spiral ; they are found more 

 frequently on climbing vines than on those trailing over the ground. 

 The adult beetles emerge from the galls in the spring and oviposit on 

 the young bindweed during November ; the gall is formed by the grub 

 located in the core of the stem. The larvae are fuU fed in April and 

 May, when they construct a strong and hard cocoon in the bottom of 

 the cavity, in which they hibernate, pupating in spring. 



Rutherford (A.). "Red Slug" of Tea (Heterusia cingala, Moore). 

 ■^ — Trop. Agric, Peradeniya,x]m, no. 2, August 1914, pp. 128-129. 



The Zygaenid, Heterusia cingala, Moore, the " red slug," is 

 widely distributed in the Ceylon tea districts, where it periodically 

 does much damage. The caterpillar, which is described, is said to 

 feed also on Lagerstroemia, etc. The larval life lasts about five weeks, 

 and the imago emerges from the pupa in about 20 days. The moths 

 rest on stems in the hot part of the day and swarm round trees in the 

 afternoon and early evening, when large numbers can be destroyed. 

 The eggs of a parasitic Tachinid are often found attached to the larva. 



Rutherford (A.). Insects Destructive to Dadap {Erythrina sp.). — 

 Trop. Agric, Peradeniya, xUii, no. 2, August 1914, pp. 129-134. 



Short descriptions are given of the most important Lepidoptera, 

 the caterpillars of which defoliate this Erythrina, and which can bo 

 controlled by an application of lead arsenate to the foliage. 



They include Taragama dorsalis, Wlk., reported from dadap, tea and 

 siris acacia; Eupterote geminata, Wlk., which feeds on grasses, tea, 

 cotton, Hibiscus sp. and Castilloa elastica ; Eupterote fabiu, Cram., 

 the caterpillars of which cluster at the base of the tree with their 

 heads directed to a common centre ; Orgyia postica, Wlk., which also 

 feeds on Eucalyptus sp., velvet-bean, tea and Albizzia in Ceylon, and 



